Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley
Martha Lester Harper was born about 1859 in County Monaghan, Ireland – the daughter of Robert Harper.
She emigrated to Otago in 1883 on the Victory and she married James McNeill, a stonemason, on 22 July 1885 at Queenstown.
Martha and James had no children and lived in Queenstown where Martha signed the suffrage petition.
She died on 8 July 1895 after 'a long and painful illness borne with gentle patience' at the age of 33 and is buried in the Queenstown Cemetery.
James re-married in 1906 - he died in 1920 and is buried with Martha in the Queenstown Cemetery.
Sources
Family Search https://www.familysearch.org
Otago Nominal Index http://marvin.otago.ac.nz
Papers Past https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz
Queenstown Lakes District Council http://cemeteries.qldc.govt.nz/